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University of Wisconsin - M.S. Data Sciences (2016 - )
Penn State University (2008) - B.S. Information Sciences Pocono Mountain High School (2004) |
Head of Data Strategy @ adBidtise (2017 - )
Data Strategy Consulting - details on request (2016- ) Rockwell Automation (2009-2016) Johnson & Johnson McNeil Co-op (Jan. 08 - Jun. 08) United Parcel Service Intern (summer 2007) Camelback Mountain (2002-2007) |
Christian Acosta
Concepts & Business Skills
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I graduated from Penn State University in December 2008 with a degree in Information, Sciences & Technology. During my time at Penn State I had the opportunity to take one internship (summer '07 - United Parcel Service) and one co-op (spring '08 - Johnson & Johnson).
In the fall of 2008, I accepted an offer from Rockwell Automation to join the IT Leadership Development Program in Milwaukee, WI. Throughout my 7 years at Rockwell, I found myself in 8 separate positions: IT Architecture analyst, IT Security analyst, Project Management analyst, Web Strategy analyst, IT Mobility team lead, Global Sales & Marketing Territory Management Global Data Lead, IT User Experience Lead & IT Leadership Development Program Manager. I take pride in my ability to share and relay concepts through presentation. I have extensive experience with Senior Leadership presentation (including board-level personnel), organization-wide presentations with well over 300 participants, and live educational classes. I have worked with members from all levels of corporate organizations, from CFO to Data Technician to Shop Floor Technicians.
I got my start as a Snowboard Instructor at Camelback Ski Area when I was 16-years-old, teaching adult beginner and intermediate classes. I was given the opportunity to manage the children's snowboard school for several years. This experience got me out of my shell. It forced me to open up and communicate. I owe everything to this opportunity. I've always been involved in extra-curricular activities. I've managed social activities for Rockwell's Young Professional's networking group, Advance. I also managed the Rockwell I.M. Basketball league which had more than 100 members in all business units. For personal fun - I've hosted well over 50 Milwaukee Brewers tailgates that have averaged anywhere between 8 and 60 friends and acquaintances. It's a science! Throughout my time at Penn State, I was an active member in my fraternity Alpha Phi Delta and served as Supply Logistics Captain for Penn State's Dance MaraTHON which raises money for childhood cancer research. Over $9 MILLION was raised last year alone!
I am currently pursuing my Masters Degree in Data Science from The University of Wisconsin. I am through a bulk of my classes (10 of 12). I'm currently taking two courses: Data Science & Strategic Decision Making, and Data Visualization. |
University of Wisconsin - Masters of Data Sciences (2016)
Completed 10 of 12 classes. Current GPA: 4.0.
Completed Courses
- Visualization and Unstructured Data Analysis: Create visuals to maximize readability and understanding of complex data sets. Perform network modeling and visualizations, perform analysis of unstructured data using text mining using R.
- Data Science and Strategic Decision Making: Develop foundations of Digital Marketing for both small and large business. Explore various techniques for how data can be used to develop competitive advantages. Identify leadership and management skills required to direct a team of data scientists.
- Data Warehousing: Further grew Data warehousing techniques (ETL, storage requirements, project planning etc.). SQL development, data cubes, OLAP, data storage, + more.
- Data Mining: Constructed classification techniques and algorithms - linear/logistic regression, classification trees, neural networks, nearest neighbors, naive Bayes, Bayesian networks and genetic algorithms. Deploy predictive models on vast data sets. Implemented clustering algorithms and association rules.
- Prescriptive Analytics: Performed Operations Research via linear and quadratic optimization (similar to six sigma). Performed predictive & prescriptive modeling in IBM CPLEX (OPL), Excel (Solver & ASPE), & R. Built data simulations and optimization models using Game Theory & Decision Analysis.
- High Performance Computing: Executed big data analysis using tools such as Hadoop, Java, Pig, Hive, and Python to analyze large data sets. Distributed algorithms across computing clusters. Developed parallel algorithms to more efficiently process large data sets.
- Statistical Methods: Performed various forms of statistical analysis using R: linear regression, multiple linear regression, logistic regression, ANOVA, MANOVA, bootstrapping, inference for categories, T-tests, Wilcoxon tests, factor analysis and cluster analysis.
- Programming for Data Science: Grow proficiency in R and Python through analyzing real world data and testing statistical hypotheses, Utilized both Python and R to cleanse data. Worked with various R and Python (pandas, NumPy, Tweepy) packages for data analysis. Utilized github for versioning control. Received perfect score on final project for discovering a relationship between MLB stadium attendance and 'twitter penetration' in a TV Market.
- Communicating for Data Science: Progressed through three individual modules throughout the semester: Technical writing using plain English, assessing data fluency, and persuasive presentation. Created and delivered a paper regarding a newly 'discovered' planet by Mike Brown and team from CalTech. Wrote a technical assessment on The Impact of Data Fluency on Business Decisions and Outcomes. Lastly, presented a unique idea uniting worker technical skills and organizational technical ability in a concept called The Techknowledgy Quotient.
- Foundations of Data Science: Established foundations in various tools such as SQL, R, Access, and advanced Excel functions, Learned various statistical concepts for use in future courses. Delivered a final project using various forecasting techniques in R to predict number of examinations at health clinics.
- Capstone
- Formulate a research question. Collect, clean and manage the data to form hypothesis. Apply various models to address research questions.
- Prepare a professional report and communicate findings to a non-technical audience.
- Ethics of Data Science
- Identify social, legal and ethical issues with data science.
- Interpret the activity and choices of other entities within an ethical framework. Determine appropriate actions based on professional standards within computer science.
Rockwell Automation (January 2009 - January 2016)
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My time at Rockwell Automation was very rewarding and fulfilling. I got to know a lot of great people - from Senior Leadership through Floor Shop Technicians. My extra-curricular involvement got me networking with people all around the company.
My first two years at Rockwell were spent as an inaugural member of the IT Leadership Development Program - a program I would go on to lead in 2015. IT Leadership Development Program (2009 - 2011) |
IT Architecture Group – 1st rotation, Jan ’09-Jul ‘09
- Created the IT Simplification Model along with the Direct of IT Architecture. This model helped score IT's hardware infrastructure and software portfolio. It was used to justify and prioritize investment in new technology. I cooperated with 8 service owners to execute the effort: Disaster Recovery, Backup, Servers (Wintel & Unix), Telephony, Networking, Mobility, User Hardware, and Software.
- Designed the “hourglass” set of metrics to track statistics on the effectiveness of Rockwell Automation’s Intrusion Detection technology. It was used as a model to communicate security events and their relative risk to management.
- Investigated, reported and executed changes for vulnerabilities within the RA remote access policy utilized by thousands of users.
- Executed daily resource and project change requests required by IT. This gave me exposure to portfolio spend and the project management execution steps.
- Automated two different request processes, and six Project Management reports amounting to a time savings of 15 hours per week using Excel.
- Collected functional specifications from three target groups for a proposed Enterprise Content Management system. This led to the implementation of Microsoft SharePoint.
Mobility Services Analyst & Team Lead (2011 - 2013)
- Coordinated the migration from BlackBerrys to iPhones for Rockwell Automation in North and Latin America. Over 3,000 devices were converted in a 6 month period with 5 dedicated resources.
- Received various accolades for the creation and administration of the iPhone 101 training course which received a 4.8/5 aggregate feedback rating. View the feedback in pdf form (set 1, set 2).
- Developed minute, text and data usage models to optimize Rockwell's pooled contracts. These models were significant improvements over previous efforts - saving Rockwell $1,000,000+ over a two year period.
- Implemented cost notification processes to alert individuals and managers of high usage. The educational program contributed to a large amount of savings.
- Created several processes to detect fraudulent use of mobile devices around the globe. There were 6 cases that were all detected within 30 days. Fraudulent use had accounted for over $100,000 the previous year.
- Led mobile device support and service operations throughout the North America and Latin America regions – representing 8,000+ devices. Optimized support models which included leading our 'shift left' initiative which armed front line agents with the ability to fix a large majority of problems on the first call. Ticket efficiency increased by 50%.
- Drove the migration to end user self-support by leading the MobilityServices SharePoint initiative. This format was then adopted by all other IT functional areas, serving as a way for users to self-diagnose issues.
- Supervised the workload of five analysts, two help desk tier two agents, and an intern.
- Maintained supplier relationships with over 20 carriers in North and Latin America, and served as an integral piece in contract negotiations.
Sales & Marketing Global Territory Data Lead (2013-2015)
- Coordinated Global Territory Management Operations for over 3,000 sales employees and 1,000 'territories'. Territories served as the security model for Business Intelligence and Incentive Compensation. Worked with 4 global sales operations directors (and their teams) to manage workload and development initiatives throughout the globe.
- Managed the requests from Global Sales Leaders and Operations Managers to prioritize system development and investment opportunities within SAP CRM.
- Developed Territory Management 2.0 roadmap for future development and investment which led to the piloting of Anaplan Cloud Software.
- Coordinated Global Customer Information activities in Shanghai, China for SAP Release 8, and led global Territory Management discovery meetings for Release 9 & 10 with Latin America.
- Administrated work time for up to 10 global resources for Territory Management operations in conjunction with regional operations managers.
- Led annual sales re-organizations within North America (since territories were integral to reporting and compensation).
IT Early Career Program Manager (2015)
- Served as Program Manager for Information Technology's Leadership Development (LDP) and Internship Programs. Oversaw 4-5 concurrent LDP Members and 5-8 Interns.
- Led the solicitation of project proposals with global Information Technology Leaders on a bi-annual basis. Analyzed proposals for urgency & priority to make sure members were placed in to aggressive and visible projects.
- Deployed the standard rotations process which ensured that all LDPs were given meaningful roles and opportunities with the right managers.
- Designed LDP group project to increase program member and alumni visibility with I.T. Leadership to address four key capacities: Skills/Experience, Intellectual Capacity, Job Role Responsibility & Temperament.
- Oversaw key coordination tasks for recurring, rotated responsibilities among LDP members such as Global Podcasts & Meetings, and Recruitment efforts.
- Managed and maintained cost center charges & salaries, career development and performance ratings of LDP members.
- Created the framework for institutional learning which brought in VPs and leaders throughout Rockwell to help increase organizational knowledge of LDPs.
IT User Experience & Business Readiness Lead (2015)
- Coordinated business readiness activities for IT's managed service transition. This included corporate communications, training, documentation and service desk preparedness.
- Developed and launched the 2015 IT User Experience (UX) Survey which received over 5,000 responses, globally. Provided several key insights which led to discoveries about user training and support requirements.
- Created the UX Improvement Plan with IT's five executives as well as company CFO. It prioritized investment opportunities and helped coordinate communications.
- Conducted discovery sessions with Business Partners and functional leaders to define User Experience strategies in the areas of Support/Maintenance, Project Delivery, Interface Design, Training, Information Alignment & End User Road mapping.
Early Career (Prior to Graduating @ Penn State)
6-month co-op at McNeil Healthcare (Johnson and Johnson), summer intern at UPS, and 6 seasons at Camelback Ski Area
Project & Portfolio Management Co-Op
McNeil Healthcare (Johnson & Johnson) - Fort Washington, PA.
January 2008 - August 2008.
McNeil Healthcare (Johnson & Johnson) - Fort Washington, PA.
January 2008 - August 2008.
Portfolio Analyst
- Prepare weekly project dashboards for Portfolio Leaders throughout McNeil.
- Perform ad-hoc analysis on project spend and other project KPIs.
Project Manager
- Served as project manager for Walmart Mylicon double pack and Target Mylanta product special shipments.
Business Development Intern
United Parcel Service (UPS) - Harrisburg, PA
May 2007 - October 2007.
United Parcel Service (UPS) - Harrisburg, PA
May 2007 - October 2007.
Business Development (Sales Support)
- Led Central Pennsylvania's district to highest rank in Technology Integration Program (TIP) - Ranking #1 of 55 in the nation. This program aimed to integrate various UPS shipping technology with customers (for higher retention).
- Developed weekly reports for sales managers using Microsoft Access and Excel, detailing District volume and revenue performance.
- Worked on cost and time in transit comparisons versus competitors to win a $1,000,000 business for UPS. We leveraged ground shipment routes to beat FedEx's price level.
Snowboard Instructor & Supervisor
Camelback Ski Area - Tannersville, PA.
November 2002 - December 2008
Camelback Ski Area - Tannersville, PA.
November 2002 - December 2008
Children's Snowboard School Supervisor
- Served as Children's Snowboard school supervisor from 2003 - 2008.
- Handled disgruntled parents and various ski school escalations.
- Distributed snowboard classes throughout the mountain and assigned instructors (usually 50+ kids and 10+ instructors for each lesson time).
Snowboard Instructor
- Began instructing Adult snowboard lessons at 16-years-old, working 5 days a week. Taught hundreds of lessons.
- Coordinated several local area High School classes during the week.
- Taught hundreds of private lessons. Frequently had returning students.